Review: The Alliance of Civilizations Forum, 15-16 January
2008, in Madrid Spain was a high level event of people from many society
sectors, brought together to improve understanding and cooperative relations
among nations, and peoples across cultures and religions to
help counter the forces that fuel polarization and extremism. There
were twelve Major Outcomes from the Forum printed in this Review on pages 2-3.
Two Major Outcomes are initiatives for governments and youth dialogue. They are
highlighted in bold followed by an Issue Statement for a proposed
pilotproject by the Republic of Turkey
for government and youth dialogue. This Review should with the attached Word
Document: Veiled Democracy & Republic of Turkey. For
a complete report of the Madrid Forum click to open: http://www.unaoc.org/

Objective: Build understanding and support for
Article 18, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights Everyone
shall have the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion - and the
1981 UN Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and
Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief. Encourage the United Nations,
Governments, Religions or Beliefs, Academia, NGOs, Media and Civil Society to
use these international human rights standards as essential for long-term solutions to conflicts based on religion or
belief.

Challenge: In 1968 the United Nations deferred work on an
International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Religious
Intolerance, because of its apparent complexity and sensitivity. In the
twenty-first century, a dramatic increase of intolerance and discrimination on
grounds of religion or belief is motivating a worldwide search to find
solutions to these problems. This is a challenge calling for enhanced dialogue
by States and others; including consideration of an International Convention on
Freedom of Religion or Belief for protection of and accountability by all
religions or beliefs. The tensions in todays world inspire a question such as:

Should
the United Nations adopt an International Convention on Freedom of
Religion or Belief?

Response: Is it the appropriate moment to
reinitiate the drafting of a legally binding international convention on
freedom of religion or belief? Law making of this nature requires a minimum
consensus and an environment that appeals to reason rather than emotions. At
the same time we are on a learning curve as the various dimensions of the
Declaration are being explored. Many academics have produced voluminous books
on these questions but more ground has to be prepared before setting up of a UN
working group on drafting a convention. In my opinion, we should not try to
rush the elaboration of a Convention on Freedom of Religion or Belief,
especially not in times of high tensions and unpreparedness. - UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, Asma Jahangir, Prague
25 Year Anniversary Commemoration of the 1981 UN Declaration, 25 November 2006.

Option: Forty years later may be the time,
however complex and sensitive, to consider a new Working Group to draft a
United Nations Convention on Freedom of Religion or Belief. United Nations
Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, at the UN backed Alliance of Civilizations Forum
in January 2008 addressed the urgency of dialogue; Never in our lifetime has
there been a more desperate need for constructive
and committed dialogue, among individuals, among communities, among cultures,
among and between nations. This includes establishing genuine dialogue within
and among all kinds of religions or beliefs, ranging from religious fundamentalism
to secular dogmatism.

Concept:Separation of Religion or Belief and State  SOROBAS. The starting point for this dialogue is the Preamble
to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; Whereasrecognition ofthe inherent dignity
and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is
the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world.It suggests States recalling their history, culture and
constitution encouragenations,
religions or beliefs to adopt by consensus fair and equal human rights
protection as described in General Comment 22 on Article 18, International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, UN Human Rights Committee, 20 July 1993
(CCPR/C/21/Rev.1/Add.4):

PARAGRAPH 2. Article 18 protects theistic,
non-theistic and atheistic beliefs, as well as the right not to profess
anyreligion or belief.
The terms belief and religion are to be broadly construed. Article 18 is
not limited in its application to traditional religions or to religions
and beliefs with international characteristics or practices analogous to
those of traditional religions. The Committee therefore views with concern
any tendency to discriminate against any religion or belief for any
reasons, including the fact that they are newly established, or represent
religious minorities that may be the subject of hostility by a predominant
religious community.

Extracts: Extracts are presented under the Eight Articles of
the 1981 U.N. Declaration on the Elimination of all Forms of Intolerance and of
Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief. Examples of extracts are presented
prior to an Issues Statement for each Review.

4. 1All States shall take
effective measures to prevent and eliminate discrimination on the grounds of
religion or belief in the recognition, exercise and enjoyment of human rights
and fundamental freedoms in all fields of civil, economic, political, social
and culturallife.

4.1.2:Economic

5. 3The child shall be
protected from any form of discrimination on the grounds of religion or belief.
He shall be brought up in a spirit of understanding, tolerance, friendship
among peoples, peace and universal brotherhood, respect for the freedom of
religion or belief of others and in full consciousness that his energy and
talents should be devoted to the service of his fellow men.

Major Outcomes: Alliance
of Civilizations Forum, MadridSpain

Madrid,
15-16 January 2008

 Announcement of a Global Youth Employment Initiative,
called Silatech, with an investment of $100 million from H.H. Sheika Mozah bint
Nasser-el-Missned and partnerships with the World Bank and the corporate
sector, notably with CISCO, which will begin with 5 pilot country programs in
the Middle East.

 Announcement of a multi-million dollar AoC Media Fund that
will be a first-of-its-kind nonprofit large-scale media production company
focused on normalizing images of stereotyped communities and minorities in mass
media through partnerships with major Hollywood
production, distribution, and talent management companies. The Fund was
launched with an initial commitment of 10$ million, and an estimated target of
$100 million.

 Announcement of national and
regional strategies for cross cultural dialogue by governments and multilateral
organizations to advance AoC objectives in their respective countries and
regions.

 Establishment of partnership agreements, with various
multilateral agencies and organizations, which contain specific terms that will
enable the AoC to leverage networks, contacts, and competitive advantages of
partners in the implementation of its programs. We have signed 5 agreements -
with UNESCO, ARABIC STATES LEAGUE, ISESCO, ALECSO and UnitedCities
and Local Governments (UCLG) - and a letter of intent with the Council of
Europe.

 Launch of the AoC Clearinghouse beginning with a theme of
Media Literacy Education, which will catalogue media literacy programs
and related government policies in different parts of the world; and
announcements of partnerships with several universities that will serve as
nodes to enliven this clearinghouse by initiating exchanges and posting
materials on the latest development in media literacy education.

 Launch of a Rapid Response Media Mechanism beginning with
an online resource that will feature a list of global experts in cross-cultural
issues, who are available to comment or to talk to journalists, particularly in
times of major cross-cultural crises.

 Establishment of a Youth
Solidarity Fund aimed at providing grants to support youth-led programs in the
areas of intercultural and interfaith dialogue. Moreover, a decision was made
to strengthen the network of youth participants that attended the AoC Forum and
broaden the network to include other youth.

 Discussions at the policymaking level that highlight the
importance to move the Alliance forward in 2008 such as: developing joint
multi-stakeholders initiatives at the regional level aimed at promoting a
better inter-cultural understanding, and preventing the mounting of tensions
and the

rise
of extremism; contributing to the upgrade of the inter-cultural dialogue among
the two banks of the Mediterranean Sea;
launching a number of activities within the framework of active and city
diplomacy.

 Establishment of an Alliance network of good will
ambassadors made up of prominent, high-profile, internationally recognized
figures drawn form the worlds of politics, culture, sport, business and
entertainment to help in promoting the work of the Alliance, highlighting
priority issues and drawing attention to its activities.

 Commitment by the United Nations Global Compact to
producing a publication aimed at raising the visibility of best practices in
the corporate sector toward supporting cross-cultural relations.

 Signing of an action-oriented statement of solidarity and
joint commitment by diverse religious leaders toward the goal of advancing
shared security and peace and providing youth with guidance to counter
extremist influences.

ISSUE STATEMENT: Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdogdan, Prime Minister of Turkey,
in his address to the Alliance of Civilizations Madrid Forum said; Turkey itself
is an answer to the clashes in the
world between civilizations. Turkey is a nation straddling Asia and Europe, an
ideal country for a pilot project initiative combing Outcome (3) National and
regional strategies for cross-cultural strategies by governments and
multilateral organizations to advance AoCobjectives intheir respective countries and regions; in
partnership with, Outcome (7) Alliance of Civilizations Youth Solidarity Fund
to support youth-led programs in inter-cultural, inter-faith dialogue.

Adult and youth dialogue strategies may depend on a transparent, open
and fair reflection on the Preamble of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human
Rights; Whereasrecognition
ofthe inherent dignity and of the equal
and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of
freedom, justice and peace in the world.
 Mark C. Taylor, Williams College;
New York Times Op Ed article makes this point: The warning signs are clear:
unless we establish a genuine dialogue within and among all kinds of belief,
ranging from religious fundamentalism to secular dogmatism, the conflicts of
the future will probably be even more deadly.

The decision to base dialogue on the 1948 Universal
Declaration of Human Rights and supporting international human rights treaties
will depend on whether a pilot project by Turkey based on the Alliance of
Civilizations Outcomes can set aside the reservations by Islamic countries
claiming Islamic Shariah law as the final arbitrator over international human
rights treaties. This argument is made in the votes of eighteen countries to
abstain in the sixth session of the UN Human Rights Council on the mandate on
the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, and in this excerpt
from The Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam excerpted in Veiled Democracy & Republic of Turkey:

Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam

Adopted and
issued at the Nineteenth Islamic

Conference of
Foreign Ministers on 5
August, 1990.

The Member States of the
Organization of the Islamic Conference,

Reaffirming the civilizing
and historical role of the Islamic Ummah which God made the best nation that
has given mankind a universal and well-balanced civilization in which harmony
is established between this life and the hereafter and knowledge is combined
with faith; and the role that this Ummah should play to guide a humanity
confused by competing trends and ideologies and to provide solutions to the
chronic problems of this materialistic civilization.  The Cairo Declaration on
Human Rights in Islam, 1990

Article 24: All the rights and
freedoms stipulated in this Declaration are subject to the Islamic Shariah.  The Cairo
Declaration on Human Rights in Islam, 1990. This is the same
stipulation as made by Islamic reservations on United Nations human rights
treaties.

The Republic of Turkey,
a co-sponsor of the Alliance of Civilizations, might consider a strategy for apilot project
between secular and religious sectors of their country under General Comment 22
on Article 18, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, UN Human
Rights Committee, 20 July
1993 (CCPR/C/21/Rev.1/Add.4)?

PARAGRAPH 2: Article 18 protects theistic, non-theistic and atheistic beliefs,
as well as the right not to profess anyreligion
or belief. The terms belief and religion are to be broadly
construed. Article 18 is not limited in its application to traditional
religions or to religions and beliefs with international characteristics
or practices analogous to those of traditional religions. The Committee
therefore views with concern any tendency to discriminate against any
religion or belief for any reasons, including the fact that they are newly
established, or represent religious minorities that may be the subject of
hostility by a predominant religious community.

This depends on adult approval - parents, religious and non-religious
leadership, according to Article 5.2 of the 1981 UN Declaration: Every child shall enjoy the right to have access to education in the
matter of religion or belief in accordance with the wishes of his parents or,
as the case may be, legal guardians, and shall not be compelled to receive
teaching on religion or belief against the wishes of his parents or legal
guardians; the best interests of the child being the guiding principle.

A speaker at the Prague 25 year anniversary of the
1981 UN Declaration on Freedom of Religion or Belief, may have expressed the
choices facing human rights advocates and religion or belief the best; Our
educational systems need to provide children with a broad orientation: from the
very beginning, children should be taught
that their own religion is one out of many and that it is a personal choice for
everyone to adhere to the religion or belief by which he or she feels most
inspired, or to adhere to no religion or belief at all.

The Tandem Project: a non-profit, non-governmental
organization established in 1986 to build understanding and respect for diversity
of religion or belief, and prevent discrimination in matters relating to
freedom of religion or belief. The Tandem Project has sponsored multiple
conferences, curricula, reference materials and programs on Article 18 of the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights  Everyone shall have the
right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion - and the 1981 United
Nations Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and
Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief. The Tandem Project initiative was
launched in 1986 as the result of a co-founder representing the World
Federation of United Nations Associations (WFUNA) at a 1984 United Nations
Geneva Seminar, Encouragement ofUnderstanding, Tolerance and Respect in Matters Relating to Freedom of
Religion or Belief, called by the UN Secretariat on ways to
implement the 1981 UN Declaration. In 1986, The Tandem Project organized the
first NGO International Conference on the 1981 UN Declaration.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights First
Preamble reads: Whereasrecognition
ofthe inherent dignity and of the equal
and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of
freedom, justice and peace in the world.This
principle suggests all States recalling their history, culture and
constitution, provide equal protection as declared by international law; for theistic, non-theistic and atheistic beliefs, as well as the right not
to profess any religion or belief. International Human Rights
Standards on Freedom of Religion or Belief are essential for long term solutions to conflicts based on religion or
belief.